LAS VEGAS — Floyd Mayweather still is waiting for an opponent to pull the best out of him.

Often his own harshest critic, Mayweather said Tuesday he's hopeful Marcos Maidana is at the top of his game Saturday night, if only because it could force him to rise to another level.

"Because if he brings his best, he might be the first guy to actually make me dig in my bag of tricks and pull out my 'A' game," Mayweather said.

"My whole career, all I had to use was a 'D' and 'C' game to beat every guy. I never had to use an 'A' game or a 'B' game."

At 45-0, Mayweather has cruised to victories over the past few years over opponents who, on paper, are much tougher than Maidana. If Miguel Cotto or Saul "Canelo" Alvarez couldn't rough him up enough to win, can Maidana?

Maidana's 34 victories include 31 knockouts, and Mayweather already has said he has to be wary of his power. But he also wondered why Maidana couldn't finish off Adrien Broner, who made the jump to welterweight for their bout.

"We don't look for this fight to go the distance. He's looking for the knockout, we talking about the fight not going the distance. You're going to get a hell of a fight Saturday, I guarantee you that."